2023-11-09 20:12:00
The Alouettes v. Argonauts will be presented Saturday at 3 p.m. on RDS and RDS.ca
Pre-match Alouettes v. Argonauts
MONTREAL – If you were wondering where this snow came from on Thursday morning, it was probably ordered by Jason Maas. Throughout the year, the Montreal Alouettes coach pushed his team to stop at nothing.
“Snow was the only thing we were missing, weather-wise, having played in all conditions this season. The guys were excited to come to practice. We kept repeating it, don’t even look at the weather, we practice outside regardless,” Maas commented.
“Some guys had never seen snow or practiced in snow. We all had to do our part to make the field suitable for practicing,” added the coach who judges that the mental strength of his group will pay off.
Speaking of preparing the field, the Alouettes staff worked ingeniously to clear it. But it seemed that the players were especially eager to see if Mustafa Johnson would continue his tradition of taking off his jersey during stretching.
The Colorado native was reluctant at first, but a few players gently teased him – including Shawn Lemon who wanted to pull on his jersey – and he eventually dared. After all, it is known that many athletes are superstitious and the Alouettes have won six games in a row.
For Texan Reggie Stubblefield, it was nothing but happiness.
” I love that! I don’t often get to see snowflakes. Every time it happens to me, it makes me very happy. During the last snowstorm in Texas (in 2021), we couldn’t really go outside, we weren’t prepared to enjoy it. Otherwise, it went back to when I was a child,” he testified while his smile was hidden by a hood.
“For me, it just adds energy to the group. Plus, I was able to throw a few snowballs, it was fun,” added the defensive back.
Wide receiver Tyler Snead was also wondering what was going on when he saw so much snow early in November.
“It’s probably the time I’ve seen the deepest snow on the ground. I had never practiced or played football in the snow. This is all new to me,” confided the man who is not the type to let snow affect his preparation.
“Everyone wanted to go on the field. We preached this all year, no matter the conditions, we would be at practice. We were able to practice all the games,” noted this accustomed to extra time on the practice field.
Saturday, in Toronto, the forecast calls for a felt temperature of 2 degrees.
Anthony Calvillo, who goes by the titles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, laughed and said he likes the snow “just for today.”
Calvillo certainly wouldn’t have wanted the snow to slow down the team’s preparation for the duel to advance to the Gray Cup.
“Coach Maas has done a very good job of making the players aware of the things we need to focus on,” Calvillo said.
That’s exactly his approach this week when he talks with quarterback Cody Fajardo. Even if a first appearance in the championship match is at stake for Fajardo, he must only think about the Argonauts.
“Above all, we try to concentrate on the game plan. Yes, we know that the Gray Cup would be the next game and we plan to get there, but we are preparing for this game. I especially want to make sure Cody’s eyes are looking in the right place. This is the key to his readings. This central stripe on the helmet gives us a lot of information,” Calvillo explained, placing his hand on the head like a shark fin.
Fajardo will have to know which prey to attack against Toronto to avoid the dangers.
On a collective level, Maas relies on the evolution of his team to have the upper hand.
“We went through some ups and downs during the season, but we grew together and learned a lot. We’re playing at a good level right now and we’re playing for each other. We have progressed since our last duel against Toronto. We won these games and we learned to win regularly,” concluded Maas while the Alouettes have not been beaten since their last match against Toronto.
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